Christmas Come Early

It is a common refrain for baseball fans that Opening Day is like Christmas in April.

Just like when we were kids waiting for Christmas morning, the wait for Opening Day can seem impossibly long, endless even. The butterflies dance in your stomach as you contemplate all the possibilities of the impending baseball season, just like you used to dissect all the possible goodies you'd find under the tree.

This morning, a taste of Christmas came early for the Glass Man in the form of my softball team roster and schedule.

Regular readers will remember A.F.O.M.G. suiting up last fall with Sip and our old English teacher, Smitty, in the Eastern Athletic Softball League. On the strength of the Glass Man's stellar Rookie of the Year campaign (sorry Sip), our team went all the way, bringing home the championship New York fans so richly deserved.

I've been dreaming of the Spring softball season ever since that sun-drenched November morning. Then, first thing this morning, I saw the email from the "Commishna". My eyes were blurry, and the iridescent glow of the blackberry made them hurt, but I scrolled down and found my team, Team 3.

There won't be any Sip or Smitty this time; Sip was lost to inertia, Smitty to Team 5. That said, I want to say I recognize several of the names on my team, good guys all and some of them real good ballplayers. We take to the field Sunday morning at 10:15.

For the Glass Man, this morning was a taste of Christmas morning. The real thing comes Sunday, and as I think about it, all of a sudden it's like I'm transported back through time. I'm a young and fiery A.F.O.M.G., it's December 23 and I'm at the old house in Ohio. The anticipation is killing me.

Two more days, youngin', just two more days. 

- A.F.O.M.G.